Computerized role-playing games (RPGs) have secured their place in the video game industry as one of the most popular video game types. The attraction typically comes from a mixture of the overall story (or stories) being told in the game, and the underlying game mechanics (e.g., how the characters are improved as the game progresses, how battles are conducted, etc.).
In some RPGs, the player may be given control over the main character in the story, and additional side characters may join the main character as the story progresses. The side characters may be important to the story as it unfolds, and developers of RPGs typically give considerable thought and attention to the characters (both main and side characters), giving them unique appearances and back stories explaining their history.
Typical RPGs, however, continue to focus on the main character. Some RPGs use a map scene to depict a world in which the game takes place, and the main character is displayed in the map scene. The player may move their main character through the environment shown in the map scene, and may interact with the various creatures, characters and/or objects in the scene. If the main character is accompanied by one or more side characters, forming a party, the side characters do not play significant roles in the map scene, and are not given much attention. When the main character (or party) moves through the map scene and enters a location in the scene, such as a town, the player remains in control of the main character, again largely ignoring the side characters in the party.